Delaware State News

DOVER — Democratic Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. will return to his alma mater Friday morning to stump for himself and presidential running mate Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, firing up voters just days before Tuesday’s election.

A 1965 University of Delaware graduate, Sen. Biden has been seen on the national stage much more than in the First State. Public appearances for the six-term senator have been limited since he was tapped in late August to run for vice president.

Earlier this month, Sen. Biden spoke at the Democratic Party’s Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, but that crowd was limited to about 1,000 party faithful who paid to attend the annual banquet.

But Friday at 10:30 a.m., the senator will speak from the north steps of Memorial Hall, addressing a crowd that will gather on the North Green, formerly known as the Mall, at the Newark college campus.

A release sent by the Obama campaign said Sen. Biden would talk about restoring economic security and focus "on how his own Delaware upbringing shaped him as a fighter for the middle-class and how his deep connection to the state has kept him a champion for change."

The rally also will serve as a get-out-the-vote effort to encourage UD students and area residents to volunteer and help boost turnout in neighboring Pennsylvania, a battleground state literally around the corner from the campus.

The Democratic ticket is leading in several polls against Republican candidates Arizona Sen. John McCain and vice presidential candidate Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, but the Keystone State’s 23 electoral votes could play a pivotal role in the election.

Sen. Biden also will be in Pennsylvania, in Allentown and Williamsport, this afternoon after starting his day in Arnold, Mo.

Although his focus is on his vice presidential campaign, Sen. Biden is running for a seventh U.S. Senate term against Republican Christine O’Donnell. He has not debated or even really acknowledged Ms. O’Donnell, who trails the senator by more than 30 percentage points in polls.

Gates to the Green will open at 8 a.m. for Friday’s rally. The event is free and open to the public, but the campaign is encouraging reservations at http://www.barackobama.com.

Attorney general to deploy with National Guard unit

Delaware State News

DOVER — Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. has helped send off several National Guard units deploying from the First State, but next week’s send-off is certainly special.

The senator’s elder son, Attorney General Joseph R. "Beau" Biden III, is one of the soldiers scheduled to deploy with the Delaware National Guard’s 261st Signal Brigade in October, with the yearlong mission taking the Guard captain to Iraq.

Despite his high profile as the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Sen. Biden is expected to attend the Oct. 3 deployment ceremony on Legislative Mall, Guard spokesman Lt. Col. Leonard Gratteri said Thursday.

"From what we’ve been told, he’s planning to attend," Lt. Col. Gratteri said. "He’s supposed to address the troops. He’s done that every time we’ve deployed a unit when he’s in the state."

The 261st Signal Brigade, which is headquartered in Smyrna, received an alert order in February and got its mobilization orders about two months ago.

The brigade will report to Fort Bliss in Texas on Oct. 5 for additional training "specific to the Iraqi theater" that could last from four to 10 weeks, Lt. Col. Gratteri said.

Mr. Biden, a Guard captain, is a judge advocate general — a military lawyer. He would serve as a prosecutor for the U.S. Army and help enforce the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

With a vice-presidential candidate expected to attend the event, Dover police spokesman Lt. James E. Hosfelt said officers from several agencies will be meeting Monday to discuss security at Legislative Mall.

The ceremony, which is open to the public and is expected to draw about 750 people, will create a travel and parking issue for state workers, with parking prohibited and the four streets surrounding Legislative Mall closed for most of the workday.

In a memorandum Monday to state employees, Capitol Police said state employees who normally use parking spaces around the mall should make alternative plans.

Capitol Police contacted DART about providing shuttle service, but have been informed that all buses are used for routine daily service and unavailable to shuttle state workers, the memo stated.

By Drew Volturo

Delaware State News

DOVER — Alaska and Delaware couldn’t be much farther apart geographically, but voters in the two states agree on at least one thing: Delaware Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. has more experience and would be better equipped to handle an international crisis than Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

Sen. Biden and Gov. Palin, the vice-presidential candidates for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively, were matched up in a Fairleigh Dickinson University PublicMind poll of First State and Last Frontier State residents released Wednesday.

"When you look at the favorability of the two candidates and where they stand on some issues, the answers mirror each other in the two states," said Fairleigh Dickinson political science professor Dr. Peter Woolley, the poll’s director.

"Both states are pro-choice, which is surprising."

The poll of 601 randomly selected, likely voters in each state found that Alaskans feel Sen. Biden has the "background and experience" to be a good president, 43 percent to Gov. Palin’s 37 percent, and that he is "better equipped" to handle an international crisis, 44 to 32 percent.

And while 64 percent of Delawareans think Sen. Biden would make a good president, only 49 percent of Alaskans think Gov. Palin would be a good president.

Nearly 70 percent of Delawareans polled said Sen. Biden has the background edge, while 73 percent think he’s the vice presidential candidate best suited to deal with an international crisis.

"Voters will decide who is best qualified to protect America’s security," Sen. Biden’s vice-presidential spokesman David Wade said in a statement. "It’d be presumptuous as hell of us to try and tell Alaskans or any Americans what to think. That’s a decision Americans will make on their own."

Both running mates rated strongly in their home states, with Gov. Palin racking up a 62-percent favorable mark among Alaskans, while Delawareans gave Sen. Biden a 65-percent favorable rating.

The home-state favoritism played out in questions about who was more "honest, trustworthy" and who better understands the concerns of the average person and who is more effective and who is best suited to develop the nation’s future energy policy.

"Home-state preference is only one element. Party (affiliation) is another element," Dr. Woolley said. "Home-state preferences are undergirded by party affiliation.

"And at the same time (Alaskans) are saying Joe Biden is a better candidate in terms of experience, they give Palin high marks."

The poll showed that Gov. Palin has a 77-percent approval rating from Alaskans, which Dr. Woolley said is "very unusual" considering she is past the honeymoon phase of her gubernatorial term.

Those approval ratings are a stark contrast to outgoing Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner, who polled a 38-percent approval rating and a 49 percent disapproval rating.

That low approval rating was borne out in the Democratic gubernatorial primary in which state Treasurer Jack A. Markell defeated Lt. Gov. John C. Carney Jr.

Lt. Gov. Carney was endorsed by Gov. Minner as her successor, but Mr. Markell repeatedly referred to the failed policies of the "Minner-Carney administration," linking his opponent to an unpopular governor.

Dr. Woolley said Gov. Minner’s low approval rating and the other data show that gender was not an issue in the poll.

"Democratic women aren’t flocking to Palin because she’s a woman, and they aren’t giving Ruth Ann Minner a break, either," Dr. Woolley said.